Centrifugal pump



June 2, 1942. J. R, BE'r'rs GENTRIFUGAL PUMP Filed llay 31, 1939 w. mw WWm *W Patented June -2, 1942 'I OFFICE CENTBIFUGAL PUMP John Betts,Aurora, Nelir.` application May 31; 1939, sex-au Na. 276,857. r

` 8 clzims. ici. los-90) My invention relates to centrifugal pumps, oneof the objects being the provision of a centrifugal pump which may beassembled or disassembled with the expenditure of the least amount oftime and trouble.

Another object is the provision of a centrifugal pump including a rotorhaving a peripheral bearing inside the stator, each having a uniformdiameter throughout its length whereby the rotor may be removed from thestator without the necessity of disassembling either the stator or therotor.

i Another object is the provision of a well casing having bearings fixedthereto on the inner side thereof at uniformly spaced intervals, andimpellers assembled with lengths of shafting in a manner such that theimpellers will be spaced the same distance apart as the distance betweenbearings whereby the impellers will all be seated in the bearings.

Another object is the provision of a centrifugal pump having a rotatingshroud with an impeller secured to the shroud on the inner side thereof,the shroud having a peripheral bearing and water guiding blades aboveand below the bearing, the radial width of the blades and bearing beingsuch that the shroud may be slidably withdrawn from or' inserted intothe well casing.

Another object is the provision of a rotary pump having an impeller witha peripheral bearing, and having an inverted hollow cone which functionsduring the operation of the pump as a deflector for the water currentsand during the starting of the pump as a lubricator for the pump.

Another object is. the provision of a rotary pump including an impellerhaving a peripheral bearing and an inverted cone above the bearing, thecone being adapted to hold water while the pump is stationary to bethrown out centrifugally at the beginning of the operation of the pumpto drain down into and to lubricate the bearlng.

Another object is the provision of a centrifugal pump having a bearingfora rotating shroud whereby the upward currents of water pass upwardlythrough the shroud, combined with blades on the inner surface of thewell casing and forming channels for receiving the curvilinear streamsof water from the shroud and causing it to travel upwardly insubstantially straight channels.

Another object is the provision of a rapidly rotating'shroud having aperipheral water lubricated bearing in a well casing whereby most ofcombined with means below the bearing for importing an initialcurvilinear impulse to the stream of water immediately on its entranceinto the shroud, and a means above the shroud for straightening out thestream of water as it leaves the shroud.

Another object is the provision of an inverted cone above a waterlubricated bearing of an impeller, a disc for bracing the cone andhaving one or more apertures in the disc for increasing the watercarrying capacity of the cone while the pump is out of operation.

Having in view these objects and others which will be pointed out in thefollowing description, I will now refer to the drawing, in which Figure1 is an oblique view of a Vertical section of well casing with one ofthe pumping units.

Figure 2 is a view in horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Flgure l,looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the rotor.

Figure 4 is a view in horizontal section on the line 4-4 of Flgure 3looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the relation between the runneror impeller blades and the stator, the view showing the positions of thevarious parts as seen when looking outward from the inside and withportions of the rotor and stator flattened out.

Figure is a view similar to Figure 5 but showing several slightmodiflcations.

Figure 'I is an oblique sectional view showing a modified form ofbearing for the shroud ring.

The pump casing is shown at III, having an annular bearing which issecured in place by means of two annular shelves I! and 13. The bladesll are secured to the pump casing below the shelf |3 to projectinwardly, and the blades IS are similarly secured to the well casingabove the shelf |2, the blades Il and IS being secured also to theshelves |3 and l2 respectively. The casing Ifl, the bearing Il, theshelves |2 and 13, and the blades H and IS together constitute thestator. Detailed description of these parts and their functions willfollow.

Centrally positioned in the casing ll is a shaft IS in the form ofsections joined together by means of couplings l'l. These couplings haverunner or impeller blades IB secured thereto as best indicated inFigures 3 and 4. Surrounding the blades II is a shroud ring I! which isalso preferably secured to the blades IS. The shaft ll, the coupling ll,the blades IB, and the shroud the water will pass upwardly through theshroud, ring i! together constitute the rotor and they are integral Witheach other in function and construction, except that the shaft 16 isreleasable from the coupling 11.

The relation of the stationary guidi'ng blades 1| and 15 is indicateddiagrammatically in Figure 5, bearing in mind that the figure representsa fragment of the guiding blade assembly flattened out and as it appearswhen viewed from inside the casing and looking toward the rear. Theguiding blades 14 are radial and vertical in their lower portion so thatthe movement of the water will be directly vertical throughout thestraight portion of the guiding blades 1|. The upper end portions of theblades are curved at 14a to guide the streams of water into the shroudring 19 and to give these streams an initial whirling motion immediatelybefore they enter the shroud ring. Just before the water enters theshroud ring, it is seized by the impeller blades 18 which are designedwith-scoops 18a for both lifting the water into the shroud ring andgiving the water a tangential impulse, the blades 18 being in tangentialrelation to their axes of rotation. Within the shroud ring the blades 18are straight and substantially Vertical, thus causing neither upward nordownward pressure of the water. Since the streams of water are confinedto move through the rotating shroud ring, the'water must acquire themotion of the shroud ring, and since the shroud ring rotates at a veryhigh rate of speed, the outward pressure of the water reaches explosiveproportions by the time it passes out of the shroud ring. The outwardthrow of water by centrifugal force, at the top of the shroud, wouldcreate a vacuum inside of and at the top of the shroud, and causes aheavy suction on the water as it enters the shroud at the bottom andthus aid very materially in drawing the water into the pump casing. Theblades 18 are laid back at 18h, and this, together with a sudden radialenlargement of the cylinder of rotation, relieves the excessive pressureby converting much of the outward component of the pressure into anupward component for lifting the water in the stationary conduitsbetween the guiding blades 15. These blades are similar to the blades 1|but they are positioned reversely since their function is the oppositeof that of the blades 14. They are curved at their lower extremities toform scoops 15a to seize the rapidly whirling streams of water and tochange the direction of flow'into the Vertical.

In Figure 6 I show diagrammatically a structure which embodies severalmodifications. The blades 18' are similar to the blades 18 except thatinstead of being Vertical, the intermediate portions of the blades 18-'are slightly inclined in the general direction of the remainder of theblades. The blades 15' are similar ,to the blades 15 but the blades 14'differ from the blades 1| in the curvature of the upper portions of theblades. Whereas the upper portions of the blades 14 carry the stream ofwater in the curvilinear direction which is established by the impellerblades 18v', the upper portions of the blades N' hold the water streamsagainst the blades 18', causing the streams to bounce off to changetheir direction of motion as shown in .Figure 6.

As shown in Figure 1, a conical deflector 20 is secured in invertedposition to the coupling 11 and is further secured and braced to thecoupling by means of a perforated washer 21 to provide a secureconnection and to prevent vibration. The outer surface of the cone 20cooperates with the scoops 15a to direct the streams of water into thepassageways between the guiding blades 15 but the cone has an additionaland very important function. The only lubricant employed in the bearingis water which flows upwardly through the bearing while the pump is inoperation. When the rotation of the rotor is stopped, the stopping willbe gradual because of the inertia of a high speed rotor with its load ofwater. The water will run down in the conduits between the guidingblades 15 and much of it will flow into the cup formed by the cone 211.When the pump is not in operation, the cup will always be full of water.When the pump is again operated, the water in the cone 211 will bethrown out by'centrifugal force into the conduits between the blades 15whence it will flow down through the bearing to lubricate the pump. Thelubrication of the pump will always be automatic.

Since the pump is designed for water lubrication, it is important thatthe bearing be made of a material for which water is a naturallubricant. The bearing 11 may be made of lignum- Vitae or of impregnatedhard maple or of a similar material; In Figure 7 I show a modified formof bearing 11' made of steel or other suitable metal and adapted to besecured between shelves similar to the shelves 12 and 13. The bearing 11' is provided with one or more annular grooves for the reception ofrings 22 of hard rubber or other material suitable for waterlubrication.

The pump is designed for sectional installation and use, the overalllength depending on the depth to water and the length of the sectionsdepending largely on air pressure at the site. Ordinarily the length ofthe section will be from 8 to 10 feet but they may be either longer orshorter within a wide range of lengths. For obvious reasons, thedistances between the bearings 11 must be equal to the distances betweenthe shroud rings 19 and these distances should be uniform throughout thelength of the assembled pump.

The arrangement has great advantage in the manufacture of the pump, intransportation and in installation. The pump casing 11) with itsuniformly spaced bearings 11 may be sectional, the sectiohs to beassembled on the job by any of the various methods familiar to thoseskilled in installing pumps. The rotor with its shafting is then loweredinto the pump casing, the sections being secured together through thecouplings 1'1. The rotors are all uniform and integral in constructionso that the workman may select any of the rotors without rummagingthrough the stock to fin'd a particular rotor. The rotor is secured tothe shaft and is then lowered until the next above rotor must beconnected to the shafting. The work proceeds until the desired depth hasbeen reached, at which time the registration of a bearing 11 and ashroud ring 19 may be checked. If one bearing registers with a shroudring, similar relation exists throughout the length of the pump. Itshould be here noted that the radial width of the guiding blades 14 and15 is such that the inner edges of these blades are in alignment withthe inner surface of the bearing 11 so that all parts of the rotor maypass into and through the bearing and the guiding blades. ing blades arebevelled as shown in Figure 1 to facilitate the centering of the rotorwhen it is being lowered in the well casing. The lower ends of theblades 14 are similarly bevelled 'to facil- The upper ends of theguiditate the lifting out of the rotor and shaft assembly when makingrepairs.

Having thus described my invention in such full, clear, and exact termsthat its construction and operation will be readily understood by othersskilled in the art to which it pertains, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A pump including a well casing having a water lubricated bearingsecured to the inner side thereof, an impeller adapted to rotate at highspeed within said bearing, said impeller including a cylindrical casingand a plurality of Vertical impeller blades secured therein, each ofsaid blades being curved abruptly at its lower end portion in thedirection of rotaton of said impeller for impelling the water into thesaid impeller.

2'. A pump including a well casing having a water lubricated bearingsecured to the inner side thereof, an impeller adapted to rotate at highspeed within said bearing, said impeller including a cylindrical casingand a piurality of impeller blades secured therein, each of said bladesbeing curved abruptly at its lower end portion in the direction ofrotation of said impeller for impelling the water into the said impellerand being curved gradually at its upper end portion away from thedirection of rotation to relieve the centrifugal pressure as the waterpasses upwardly out of said casing.

3. In combination, a rotatable impeller having a water lubricatedbearing and means positioned above said impeller and rotatable therewithfor retaining the water during the stopping of said impeller and forcentrifugally discharging the water in starting the impeller whereby thewater will flow downwardly to lubricate said bearing.

4. A pump including a well casing having a water lubrlcated bearingseoured to the inner side thereof, an impeller including a cylindricalcasing having a plurality of impeller blades therewithin, said impellerbeing journailed in said bearing, stationary means'above said bearingfor guiding the upward flow of water above said bearing, and meansincluding a cone shaped deflector disposed above' said impeller androtatable therewith, the lowermost point of said cone shaped defiectorbeing immediately above the upper end of said cylindrical impellercasing,

said means including said oone shaped defiector acting to direct thewater upwardly and outwardiy from the proiected cylinder of rotation ofsaid impeller into cooperative relation with said guiding means.

5. A pump including a well casing having a bearing secured to the innerside thereof. an impeller adapted to rotate at high speed within saidbearing, said impeller includinga cylindrical casing and a plurality ofimpeller blades and an inverted cone secured thereto, each of saidblades being curved abruptly at its lower end portion in the directionof rotation of said impeller for impelling the water into said impellerand being curved gradually at its upper end portion away from thedirection of rotation to relieve the centrifugal pressure as the waterpasses upwardly out of said casing, said cone functioning to direct thestream of water outwardly as the water is discharged from saidcylindrical casing.

6. A pump including a casing of uniform diameter, a fixed bearing ofuniform inside diameter in said casing and reducing the diameter of thewater passage' through said casing, an impeller of uniform outsidediameter rotatable in said bearing, means for rotating said impeller athigh speed in a direction such as to cause said impeller to force thewater upwardly through said casing, and relativeiy long fiat bladessecured to said casing above said impeller and projecting verticallyupwardly from said bearing for conducting the water from said impellervertically upwardly through Channels of larger radius than the radius ofthe impeller, said blades having their lower end portions curvedopposite to the direction of the rotation of said impeller.

7. A pump including a casing having a water iubricated bearing securedto the inner side thereof and an impeller adapted to rotate at highspeed within said bearing, said impeller including a cylindrical casingand means positioned above said impeller and rotatable therewith fordeilecting the water leaving said impeller casing, for returning waterduring the stopping of said impeller, and for centrifugally dischargingthe water in starting the impeller whereby the water will flowdownwardly to lubricate said bearing.

8. A pump including a casing, a rotatable impeller for carrying a streamof water upwardly through said casing, a water iubricated bearingsurrounding said impeller and of less internal diameter than saidcasing, and a hollow, inverted cone shaped deflector above said impellerand rotatable therewith, said deflector being adapted to direct thewater upwardly and outwardly from the projected cylinder of rotation ofsaid impeller, and said deflector further serving to retain the waterduring the stopping of said impeller and to centrifugally discharge thewater in starting the impeller whereby the water will flow downwardly tolubricate the bearing.

JOHN R. BETTS.

